Sharp County record., 1887-02-17
"ON BROKEN PIECES"
Sermon by Rev. T. De Witt Tai
mage, D. D.
Lessons Drawn from a Notable Shipwreck
In the Struggle with Sin and Doubt.
Let All Else Go and Cling to
the Beam of the Cross.

tOrty-fOurth Verse OF the twenty seventh
chapter of Acts; "Some on broken pieces
of the ship He then said;
Never off Goodwin Sands, or the Skcr-
ries, or Cape Hatteras, was a ship in worse
predicamcnt than in the Mediterranean
hurricane was the grain ship, on which two
hundred and seventy-siX passengers were
driven on the coast Of Malta, five miles
from the metropolis of that island called
Citta Vecchia. After two weeks tem=
pest, in which the ship was entirely dis
abled and captain and crew had become
completely demoralized, an old missionary
took command of the vessel He was small,
crooked backed and sOre-eyed, according
to tradition. 1t was Paul, the only un=
scared man aboard. He was no more
afraid of a EuroclydOn tossing the Medlter-
ranean Sea, now up to the gates Of Heaven,
and now sinking to the gates Of hell, than
he was of a kitten playing with a string.
He ordered them all down to take their
rations, first asking for them a blessing
Then he insured all their lives, telling them
they would be rescued, and, so far from
losing their heads they would not lose SO
much Of their hair as you could cut OH with
one click of the scissors; aye, not thread
of it, whether it were gray with age or
golden with youth. There shall not a
hair fall from the head of any Of you"
Knowing that they can never get to the
desired port, they make the sea on the four
teenth night black with overthrown cargo,
so that when the ship strikes it will not
strike so heavily. At daybreak they saw
a creek, and in their eXigency resolved to
make for it. And so they cut the cables,
took in the two paddles that they had on
these old boats, and hOisted the malnsall
so that they might come up with such force
as to be driven high up on the beach by
some fortunate billOw. There she goes,
tumbHng towards the rocks; now prov
foremost: now stern foremost; now roll
ing over to starbOard now wave daShes
clear over the deck, and it seems as If the
old craft has gone forever. But up she
comes again. Paul's arm around mast,
he cries: "All is well; God has gwen me
all those that sail with me-"
Crash went the PROV with such force
that it broke off the mast Crash! went
the timbers till the seas rushed through
from side to side Of the vessel She parted
amid-ships, and into a thousand fragments
the vessel goes, and into the waves two
hundred and seventy-siX immortaIs are
precipitated. Some of them had been
brought up on the sea-shOre and had
learned to swim, and with their chin just
above the waves and by stroke Of both
arms and propulsion of both feet they put
out for the beach and reach it, But, alas,
for those others They had never learned to
swim. or they were wounded by the falling
Of the mast, or the nervous shock was too
great for them. And others had been
weakened by long seasickness.
Oh. what will become of them| "Take
that piece of a rudder,n says Paul to one.
"Take that fragment of spar" says Paul
TO another. Take that table, "TaSs,
chat image of-Castor-an1 Pollok "Tano
that plank from the lfebOat.n Take any
thing and head for the beach What
struggle for life in the breakers Oh, the
merciless waters, how they sweep over
the heads of men, women and children!
Hold on there! Almost ashore, keep up
your courage! Remember what Paul told
you.
There, the receding wave on the beach
leaves in the sand a whole family; there
crawls up out of the surf the centurion;
there another plank comes in with life
clinging fast to it; there another piece Of
the shattered vessel with its freightage of
an immortal soul They must by this time
nj b1 Vay tblt,a in lnCt pf
all-fOr he had been overseeing the rest
the old missionary, who wrings the water
from his gray beard and crl es out; THANK
God'all are here"
Gather them around a fire and call the
roll Paul builds fire, and when the
bundles Of sticks begin to crackle, and
standing and sitting around the blaze, the
passengers begin to recover from their
hill, and their wet clothes begin to dry
md warmth begins to come into all the
hiyering passengers, let the purser of the
'essel 90 round and see if aAy Of the poor
are missing. Not one Of that
rowd that were plunged into the sea. How
t relieves our anxiety as we read; Some
n broken pieces Of the ship, and so
came to past they all escaped safe to
and"
Having on previous occasions looked at
he other passengers, | cOntine myself TO-
ay to an examination of those who came
a on broken pieces of the ship. There is
about them that eXciteS IN me
n intense interest. am not so much IN
crested in those that could swim. They
ot ashore, as / expected A mile Of water
3 not very great undertaking for a strong
winner, or even two miles are not. But
can not stop thinking about those on
roken pieces Of the ship.
The great Gospel ship is the finest vessel
# the universe and can carry more passen-
-ers than any craft ever constructed, and
.ou could no more wreck it than you could
wreck the throne of God Almighty. l
wish all the people would come aboard OF
Ter. | could not promise smooth voyage,
or oft times it would be tempestuOus or
chopped sea, but could promise safe
arrival for all who took passage on that
treat Eastern, so called by me because its
came out of the east, the star
If the east badge of Hi authority.
But a vast multitude do not take egular
passage. Their theology is broken in
pieces, and their life is broken in pieces,
and their worldly and spiritual prospects
are broken in pieces, and yet believe they
are going to reach the shining shore, and |
am encouraged by the experiences Of those
people who are spoken of in the text:
"SOme on broken pieces of the ship"
One object of this sermonis to encourage
all those who can not take the whole sys-
tenn of religion as we believe it, but who
really believe something, to come ashore
on that one plank. do not underrate the
value of great theological system, but
where in all the Bible is there any thing